Blue Jay fans managed to get a glimpse of the future last Wednesday when the 22-year-old pitcher Kyle Drabek made his highly anticipated big league debut against the Baltimore Orioles.
The right-handed Drabek has been in the spotlight since the beginning of spring training when just last December the Blue Jays made the biggest trade in club history.
General Manager Alex Anthopoulos was faced with the difficult task of trading Roy Halladay, one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball, to the Philadelphia Phillies. Highly-touted pitching prospect Kyle Drabek was one of the most important acquisitions once the decision had been made.
Kyle Drabek, the son of 13-year veteran and 1990 Cy Young Award winner Doug Drabek, was drafted 18th overall in the 2006 First Year Player Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. Although he blew out his elbow in his first pro season, which caused him to miss most of 2007 and 2008 due to Tommy John surgery, he had a strong return in 2009.
Drabek dominated the minor leagues. He played in the Class A Advanced Florida State League and then made a successful transition as a 21-year-old into Double-A. Between those two levels in 2009, Drabek went 12–3 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 starts, logging 158 innings and recording 150 strikeouts. His strong return in 2009 is an important reason as to why the Blue Jays targeted Drabek as one of the main pieces in the Halladay trade.
Drabek has continued to excel with the Blue Jays organization since being traded. He had an incredible season pitching in Double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats — the Jays minor league affiliate. In 27 starts, Drabek went 14–9 with a 2.94 ERA, pitching 162 innings and recording 132 strikeouts.
Ranked as the 25th best overall prospect heading into the 2010 season according to Baseball America, Drabek features a fastball that sits comfortably around 90–94 mph, even touching 95–97 mph at times. His power curveball goes at about 84–86 mph with hard tilt. Some scouts rate his curveball a 70 on the 20–80 scouting scale.
While his fastball and curveball are plus pitches showing the potential he has to become an ace, he also throws a hard cutter and changeup. Drabek will, however, need to find consistency and refine a third pitch if he wants to become a number one starter.
In his first big league appearance against Baltimore, Drabek allowed three earned runs on nine hits, walked three and struck out five over six solid innings, throwing 53 of 88 pitches for strikes in a 3–1 loss.
It was an impressive debut, as Drabek displayed glimpses of his potential. He ran into some trouble in the first inning, but held his composure and minimized the damage. After giving up back-to-back singles to Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis, which were followed by a double steal, Drabek struck out Ty Wigginton with a 3–2 curveball. He also got cleanup hitter Luke Scott to ground out to second baseman Aaron Hill which scored Roberts, and finished off the inning by striking out Felix Pie.
However, what was most impressive about Kyle Drabek’s debut was his mound presence and poise throughout the game. He never looked intimidated against Major League hitters, even when he ran into some trouble. His power curveball looked incredible with great depth and a very sharp break. He was throwing it for strikes and was generating swings and misses.
Drabek’s MLB debut demonstrates why fans should remain optimistic — there are great days ahead in the near future. He is expected to make two more starts this season for the Blue Jays, his next being against the Seattle Mariners at the Rogers Centre on September 22.
